U.S. Immigration1820-1920

“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses…”-Inscription on Statue of Liberty

“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses…”

-Inscription on Statue of Liberty

In the 1800s, people in many parts of the world decided to leave their homes and immigrate to the United States.

Fleeing crop failure, land and job shortages, rising taxes, and famine, many came to the U. S. because it was perceived as the land of economic opportunity. Others came seeking personal freedom or relief from political and religious persecution.Push Factor – a reason or force that causes people to leave their native land. Pull Factor – a reason or force that causes people to choose to move to a new place. Melting Pot-Salad Bowl- A place where cultures can be blended or practiced separately.Emigrant – person who leaves a country.Immigrant – person who settles in a new country.

With hope for a brighter future, nearly 12 million immigrants arrived in the United States between 1870 and 1900. During the 1870s and 1880s, the vast majority of these people were from Germany, Ireland, and England--the principal sources of immigration before the Civil War. That would change drastically in the next three decades.

Entry Points

Ellis Island Angel Island

Immigrants from Europe would travel the Atlantic and arrive to be processed at Ellis Island, the main entry point for immigrants into the United States. For millions, this tiny island would be their first experience in the United States

The journey was made by ship, and was extremely dangerous. Most ships were overcrowded and packed as tightly as possible with immigrants. These ships became breeding grounds for disease, and many would not live to see the United States.

Upon Arrival at either Ellis or Angel Island, all immigrants had to be processed before entering the United States. The processing included inspection for disease, literacy tests and many others. It was not unusual for it to take days, or even weeks for an immigrant to be processed and allowed into the United States.

A long line of immigrants Waiting to be processed at Ellis Island.

A health inspection of Chinese Immigrants at Angel Island.

Country TotalGermany 5,500,000Ireland 4,400,000Italy 4,190,000Austria-Hungary 3,700,000Russia 3,250,000England 2,500,000Sweden 1,000,000Norway 730,000Scotland 570,000France 530,000Greece 350,000Turkey 320,000Denmark 300,000Switzerland 258,000Portugal 210.000Holland 200,000Belgium 140,000Spain 130,000Romania 80,000Wales 75,000Bulgaria 60,000

European Immigration Totals 1820-1920

Immigrants at Ellis Island

European Immigrants landing on Ellis Island

Immigrant Life

Immigrants often crowded into small apartment buildings, called “tenement” buildings, or subdivided homes that were intended for single families, living in tiny, cramped spaces. Cellars, attics and make-do spaces in alleys became home. Not only were many immigrants unable to afford better housing, but the conditions in which many had lived in their native lands had lowered their expectations.

A lack of adequate sewage and running water in these places made cleanliness next to impossible. Disease of all kinds (including cholera, typhus, tuberculosis, and mental illness) resulted from these miserable living conditions. Thus, when the immigrant families moved into neighborhoods, other families often moved out fearing the real or imagined dangers of disease, fire hazards, unsanitary conditions and the social problems of violence, alcoholism and crime often associated with immigrant groups.

Living Conditions

It was not uncommon forUp to 12 people to live in a single room apartment.

The majority of these “apartments” had no toilets, no running water, no electricity, and very poor ventilation.

Many immigrants could not afford housing of any kind, and were left to find alley-ways, abandoned buildings, or even street corners to sleep.

An outside view of tenement buildings in New York City. This sight was common in most large, eastern cities.

Urbanization Issues - Housing

• Types of Housing– Row Houses– Tenements

• Overcrowding• Affordable housing very poor

– Deteriorating– Dangerous– No water/indoor plumbing– Very little air or light

Urbanization - Water

• In the late 1800s, few had indoor plumbing & water was collected in pails from faucets on the street and heat it for bathing

• Needed to improve water quality because of cholera and typhoid fever

• Access to safe water (even after the introduction of filtration and chlorination at turn of century) was limited

Urbanization - Sanitation

• Horse manure piled up on streets

• Sewage flowed through open gutters

• Factory smoke filled the air

• Garbage was dumped in the streets (no formal trash collection)

Urbanization - Problems

• Corruption in the Government

• Gangs - nativism, violence

• Theft

• Public drunkenness

• No formal police

• No formal fire department

Urbanization - Fire

• Building materials were flammable• No fire departments• No water• Overcrowding• Fires occurred in every major city (2 major

examples):– Chicago (1871): 24 hours, 300 died, 100,000 homeless,

3 sq mi destroyed, $200 mil in damages– San Francisco (1906): 4 days, 1,000 died, 200,000 left

homeless, 5 sq mi destroyed, $500 mil in damages

Map of Angel Island

A photo of Chinese Immigrants. Asian immigrants traveled from the Pacific, and were processed at Angel Island, off the coast of San Francisco. Many Asian immigrants faced considerably worse discrimination than their European counterparts.

Another photo taken inside a tenement building.

Anti-Immigrant Legislation

• Chinese Exclusion Act (1882) – Banned entry to all Chinese except students,

teachers, merchants, tourists, and government officials

– Originally set for 10 yrs, but act continued to be extended

– Law was in effect until 1943

Immigrant Working Conditions

A six year old factory worker.

At the turn of the century, there were no labor laws. Working conditions, hours, wages, and days worked were determined by the employer.

A turn of the century textile factory

Immigrants working in factories, textile mills, and coal mines had little or NO RIGHTS!

-No minimum wage, wages set by employer-No employee benefits (no healthcare etc…)-No workers compensation-No regulations on hours worked-No regulations on days worked-No minimum age requirement to work-No sick days-No vacation days-No holidays-No regulations on dangerous working conditions

Factory work is very different from other types of labor. The introduction of the factory system had a profound effect on social relationships and living conditions. In earlier times workers and employees had close relationships. By contrast, the factory owners were considered to have discharged their obligations to employees with the payment of wages; thus, most owners took an impersonal attitude toward those who worked in their factories. This was because no particular strength or skill was required to operate many of the new factory machines.

Sweatshop – place where workers labor long hours under poor conditions for very low wages.

Factories

The owners of the early factories often were more interested in hiring a worker cheaply than in any other qualification. Thus they employed many women and children, who could be hired for lower wages than men.

These low-paid employees had to work for as long as 16 hours a day; they were subjected to pressure, and even physical punishment, in an effort to make them speed up production. Since neither the machines nor the methods of work were designed for safety, many fatal and maiming accidents resulted.

Children as young as six years old during the industrial revolution worked hard hours for little or no pay. Children sometimes worked up to 16 hours a day, with a one-hour total break. This was a little bit on the extreme, but it was not common for children who worked in factories to work 12-14 hours with the same minimal breaks. Not only were these children subject to long hours, but also, they were in horrible conditions. Large, heavy, and dangerous equipment was very common for children to be using or working near. Many accidents occurred injuring or killing children on the job.

Child Labor

Children were paid only a fraction of what an adult would get, and sometimes factory owners would get away with paying them nothing. Orphans were the ones subject to this slave-like labor. The factory owners justified their absence of payroll by saying that they gave the orphans food, shelter, and clothing, all of which were far below par.

Children as young as six would work between 12 and 16 hour days, with breaks totaling less than an hour. Children caught sleeping on the job were often beaten.

In order to survive, entire families had to work. A factory worker usually woke up at 4 am in order to be on the factory floor by 5 am. Mornings were often the only time an entire family could be together. The workday for men, women, and children was between 12 and 16 hours per day, and in some cases, particularly in the steel mills, the work week was seven days. If you were lucky, you got Sundays off, but you were expected to work whenever you were needed.

Entire families had to work

Immigrant labor would be one of the driving forces behind the industrial revolution. Without the efforts and sacrifices of immigrants to this

country of every race, religion, color, and creed, the United States could never have become the world power she is today. We all owe a debt of

gratitude to our immigrant ancestors.